I have a pet peeve about first person
point-of-view.
I find there are a fair number of books
that rely heavily on telling, rather than showing:
I’m told
a male lead is hot, sexy and caring, even though his actions are shown as
manipulative, cruel and insincere.
I’m told
a female lead is tough, even though she is shown as indecisive, passive and
reactive.
This inability to look past actions makes
me a terrible mind control candidate. I judge by what I see rather than what
I'm told. I guess you could call me a "visual reader". You'll probably
find "visual writers" penning movies, TV shows, comics or graphic
novels.
I have enjoyed many books where the writer
is being contrary on purpose. Sadly, there are just as many books where there
is no supporting evidence to signpost this intention.
I can’t say this method is storytelling is
wrong. There are dozens of books on bestseller lists (both-legacy and self-published)
that do this. But, I've also read just as many first person books that are able
to propel a story and characterisation forward visually, without having to tell
me who the characters are.
So how can a teller become a seer?
There are many valuable tools for writers,
but it wasn't until I wrote a screenplay that I really started to understand show-don't-tell
in prose.
In screenplays, you only write what you see
and hear. It's like plonking your novel in a sensory deprivation chamber. The
kind Uncle Walter is so fond of. Your readers no longer have an ESP plug into
the characters heads, which makes it vital that everything they say and do
speaks for them. And you can't cheat by having everyone just say what they are
thinking. You'd have to add "crazy" and "overly dramatic"
to the character descriptions of every single one of your characters.
Writing a screenplay makes it easier to
spot the problems.
If you rewrite your 300-page novel as a
movie, and you can only manage 20 pages of story, then you'll know you are
spending too much time in your character's heads.
A character-driven story can still have a satisfying
beginning, middle and end, complete with stakes, obstacles, climaxes and
resolutions. First person point-of-view doesn't replace this or make it any
easier. If anything, I've always considered first person one of the hardest
formats to write because it is rather tempting to just tell readers the plot,
rather than let them see it for themselves.
Think of your favourite movies and TV
shows. Can you recall specific examples
where action spoke louder than words ever could?
What/when was the last script you read? If
it was Shakespeare in school, that's okay too.
Have you ever tried writing a screenplay?
Would you be willing to give it a try, if you haven't?
I'll talk more about screenplays later, but in the meantime, there are plenty of scripts online that you can try out for yourselves. Remember to stick to movies/TV shows that you like or are in your preferred genre.
Some places to read more about screenplays:
That's funny, because I'm writing a screenplay right now :) I agree that it does really help with the "show don't tell" thing.
ReplyDeleteI think the last script I read was Castaway. It was particularly interesting, because for a large portion of that movie the main character is all alone on the island, yet the script was able to show what he was feeling.
I haven't read that particular script, but I have read Joss Whedon's Hush - which was also an episode of TV using actions rather than dialogue. I shall check that one out when I get a spare moment.
DeleteAnother good script to read is Strange Than Fiction. It's the first time I read a screenplay and thought the script was better and funnier than the movie. I think it all came down to the writing style, and how the writer was able to convey so much with so little.
I thought about trying to become a screenwriter at one point, but I couldn't see myself dealing with the Hollywood Scene. I was going to write for Frasier (shows you how long ago I had this notion :P).
ReplyDeleteBut, yes, one of my biggest pet peeves is when authors tell me that the lead is smart over and over, and then she never does anything vaguely intelligent in the story.
A couple of the screenwriting books I own talk about Hollywood. I can't blame you from shying away. I would do the same.
DeleteStill, writing for Frasier would have been one heck of a challenge. I think half-hour situation comedies are one of the hardest to write. I've only ever attempted teleplays and television movies. I used to fancy that I would one day write Hallmark fantasy mini-series or tele-movies.
Yeah, I think sometimes writers forget that readers have seen a lot of other books too so they can take shortcuts with exposition. We don't have to have a talking head character over-explain things to characters that are meant to be smart. I can't stop my eyes from drifting away from the book when a "smart lead" can't cotton on to something I picked up 5 pages before. That's why I give some writer's 5 stars *wink*. My eyes never leave the page.
I'm and Professional and Creative Writing student hoping to write for television someday, although from some of the scripts I've produced I should probably try to write plays. The trouble I have is that I use too much dialogue, I'm more interested in plot, so when it comes to setting the scene, all the 'visual' stuff, I get restless and try to return to the 'action' as soon as possible. Any tips?
ReplyDeletePrivacy is an important factor for the people who trade online. Are you unable to manage privacy in Blockchain? Do you want to restrict the entry of unknown people who want to sneak in to your account? If you’re unable to manage privacy in Binance, you can directly ping on Blockchain phone number 833-228-1682 and avail the best-possible solutions from the skilled professionals. The professionals are active and always there to assist users whenever they are in need of help.
ReplyDelete